Colorado State Patrol Increasing Enforcement This Weekend

The Colorado State Patrol’s (CSP’s) Public Affairs department held a press conference Oct. 15, 2015, at its Castle Rock office about its effort to combat fatal crashes in metropolitan areas of the state. According to the CSP website, the number of people killed in accidents on roads covered by CSP troopers rose by 8.3% since the previous year, after a three years of no increases.

As of Oct. 5, 416 people died in 382 traffic crashes statewide, according to Colorado Department of Transportation data. A third of those people were killed in alcohol-related crashes. In 2014, there were 488 traffic deaths throughout the state.

Weld County has the highest number of traffic fatalities so far in 2015 with 51. Jefferson County has the second highest fatality rate with 50, followed by Denver County with 39.

Zero Zero Weekend

The CSP’s intensified enforcement goal for this weekend is “zero fatalities and zero tolerance for dangerous driving behaviors.” According to a CSP press release, “This weekend (October 16-18) the State Patrol will have every uniformed member on the road in the bi-annual ‘Zero Zero’ weekend.”

Chief Col. Scott Hernandez will be among the troopers on the roads, according to an earlier CSP press release. The chief lamented that traffic crashes through Colorado and the entire U.S. are a leading cause of death: “It does not matter what the reason is for driving poorly: DUI, distraction, speed; they can be deadly and we are out to combat them all.”

The Department invites members of the media to ride along with its troopers, as they focus on finding drivers exhibiting dangerous behaviors that can harm themselves and others on the roads. Such drivers will be educated through a variety of means, including warnings, citations, and also jail time. The Colorado State Patrol will keep the public informed with photos and information via a continuous updating of its Facebook and Twitter pages, using the hashtag #ZeroZero.

Public Service Announcement

The Department also will run a special public service announcement before selected movies in the state:

Members of the media who would like to go on ride-alongs or conduct interviews must make arrangements at least 48 hours in advance, by contacting the CSP Public Affairs Unit. Once the increased enforcement period is completed, the Department will release statistics.

The Colorado State Patrol also invites the public to take its five-minute survey to help the department improve its services. The survey does not ask for your name.